The Ace of Hearts
by Reign of Rayne
Summary: Dying with a smile on his face wasn't enough. No, he had to watch the aftermath, see things he never wanted to see, all while being helpless to intervene.
1. Chapter 1

_Got your tissues? Awesome._

_Warnings: Character death (obviously), character afterlife, heavy despair, lots of swearing, everything you would expect from this kind of thing._

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Part 1

"Please . . . pass on . . . what I'm about to say . . ." He was finding it hard to speak. Was he short of breath? Why was he so numb? "Old Man . . . Everyone . . . And you, Luffy . . .

"Even though . . . I'm so worthless . . . Even though . . . I carry the blood of a demon . . . thank you . . . for loving me!"

Everything blurred before Ace's eyes and his muscles, weak and failing, could no longer support him. He fell, his hand slipping from his brother's back as he collapsed on the ground.

The battlefield was strangely quiet, everything suspended as the teenager, a strange expression on his slackening features, went limp and still.

He was smiling, even in death, even as the hole in his abdomen continued to sluggishly leak blood. After a moment, that too stopped since Ace's body had no more blood left to give. Some of it had splattered around him with his fall, a macabre pattern against the cold stone ground. More crimson leaked from between his upturned lips but it could do nothing to disturb the serene expression on his face.

For Ace, it was all over. He knew it, somehow, a kind of knowledge that surpassed simple understanding; everything was slowing down, a tunnel of noises and lights expanding and darkening until he could see nothing, hear nothing, feel nothing.

Everything was numb, gone. He was nothing. A candle snuffed out, a light extinguished, nothing but a silent observer in the void that stretched for an undefined infinity.

And then he was something. Awareness ignited an agonizing pins-and-needles sensation in his body (his _body_?). He stood, shocked, until he automatically started coughing, the smoke drifting through the air triggering the response until Ace realized that he didn't _need _to be coughing. With the realization came the reminder that he was _breathing_ and he put a hand to his chest, his eyes widening with confusion and hints of panic as he felt his unbroken skin there, whole and healthy as though a magma fist hadn't punched through and vaporized almost all of his internal organs and spine.

Sound flooded Ace's ears like a tidal wave, and coupled with the resurgence of his other senses Ace physically staggered back, trying to shut them out as a headache exploded behind his eyes, so intense that he fell to his knees, hands clamped over his ears to try to block everything out. His efforts were in vain, because one voice still reached him.

"Ace . . ."

Gods be damned, he knew that voice. Not wanting to open his eyes but instinctively knowing he had to, Ace forced his eyelids apart and found a scene that left him reeling.

There was _his_ body sprawled on the ground, a bloody, broken mess, his tattoo destroyed, a jagged hole torn through his chest that made him nauseous just by looking at it.

And there was Luffy. God, _Luffy._ The poor kid clearly couldn't even process what had just happened—_Ace_ couldn't process it, he was _dead_?—but there was a tsunami of horror rapidly encroaching on his little brother's mind. Ace would have to be blind to miss it.

He wanted the numbness to come back. He had been _at peace_, dammit, who the fuck got off on screwing with the afterlife? Who's idea of a sick fucking joke was this?

Ace barely realized that he was on fire, one arm almost completely burning, though once he did he clamped down on his abilities, extinguishing the flames effortlessly.

"Ace . . ."

The single, heartbreaking syllable hit Ace like a punch to the gut, so much more painful than anything he had suffered through before. Luffy, his energetic, happy, positive-until-the-world-ends-and-even-then brother, shouldn't sound like that. Ace reached out automatically, being within arm's length of his brother, and though he could _feel_ when his hand hit Luffy's shoulder, he found that he could do nothing to gain his brother's attention. Even when he pushed or heated his hand to burning temperatures, Luffy didn't register his presence at all.

"Luffy," Ace whispered, feeling an uncomfortable burning in his throat, so similar to what had made him cry not a minute ago. "Luffy, please . . ."

But Luffy couldn't hear Ace's voice; his eyes were fixed on Ace's rapidly cooling body and his blood-soaked hands were shaking, the trembling growing more pronounced with each passing second. And then Luffy tipped back his head, for a moment fighting not to cry, and then he did, sobs half-interrupted by anger only to burst out anyway, each cry a knife to Ace's heart. He tried to reach out again, but again found he could do nothing to comfort his brother.

"Please, Luffy, don't mourn me," Ace tried, but his words did nothing.

Luffy's mind snapped with what might as well have been an audible sound. Ace could do nothing but stare, finding it more and more difficult to swallow. Even speaking became difficult, and his eyes were watering, but it wasn't from the smoke.

"I didn't know you . . . you idiot . . . I said thank you . . . that was right, wasn't it? Luffy? Say something! Dammit, you're my little brother! Say something!" Ace's voice broke halfway through when he tried to reach out to his brother and couldn't so much as make him twitch. "I . . . you . . . why . . . even now . . ."

Ace could remember his childhood years with Luffy with almost painful clarity, like his mind was being forced to dredge up every memory they shared. Ace's chest felt like lead, so different from the fiery freedom that had fueled his muscles since he had set off from his home island, even before he ate the Mera Mera no Mi.

It hurt. Death be damned, it hurt.

Luffy had cared for him from the start and hadn't given two shits about his status as the son of the Pirate King—besides his pestering about what his good-for-nothing father was like—and had treated Ace with all the affection and loyalty and _love_ of a true brother.

Because they were brothers. Always had been, even before they really knew it.

Ace was crying again but he quickly wiped the tears away, opting to shuffle over to Luffy, who was frozen, his gaze empty while his mouth hung open in a silent scream of denial and agony.

He barely followed what happened next. There was Admiral Akainu again—Ace wanted to _burn_ that bastard (was his sacrifice for nothing? No, Luffy couldn't die, not yet, he was going to be the King of the Pirates, marines be damned) but found he couldn't no matter how hard he tried—and Jinbe was there, and there were screams and the sounds of guns and cannons and mortars and pirates dying left and right (his crewmates, his brothers, his _family_ falling with scams of pain while he was powerless to intervene) and then his surrogate father Whitebeard died standing with his pride practically radiating from him in waves and Ace couldn't handle it anymore, his mind stretching in a hundred different directions, pulled so tight it was on the verge of splintering.

He screamed, a bloodcurdling noise that made the air churn and roil with the heat bursting from his skin.

"_STOP! MAKE IT FUCKING STOP!"_

His scream went unheard. Time marched onwards, inexplicable and unstoppable.

Ace watched it, completely and utterly helpless for the first time in his life. He merely followed as Luffy was saved by a clown-faced pirate Ace distantly recognized and given to another pirate in a submarine that Ace also barely recalled from a wanted poster. He wasn't consciously following his brother; his feet carried him and he ran without knowing, his eyes empty and his mind in shock.

He was _dead._

Why was he seeing this? Why did he have to see this? Why did he need to see the extent to which he was loved?

He _knew_, had known, that Whitebeard's crew and the man himself loved him as much as anyone else. It had never hit home. He was Whitebeard's son, the son of the King of the Pirates, the brother of Straw Hat Luffy, and he was _loved_.

But he'd never figured it out . . . even with his years on the open sea, traveling with the Spade Pirates and then the Whitebeard Pirates, he'd never managed to find the answer.

_"Was it good that I was born?"_

Death brought Ace a strange, detached clarity, but he couldn't focus. He didn't want to.

Because the answer dangled in front of him and he desperately wanted the question to remain unanswered because when he did acknowledge it, it would be over. All of it.

For good.

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	2. Chapter 2

_Warning: copious amounts of swearing. And more tugging of the heartstrings.  
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Part 2

The soft beeping of machinery intruded on the dark cloud swirling around Ace's mind and he glanced up, finally taking in the surroundings he had automatically brought himself into while still dazed from the fact that he had _died_.

He'd ended up on a vacant chair, elbows on his knees and face in his hands. Now that he was looking around, he realized it was some kind of hospital room. He skipped over the gleaming metal surfaces, his mind slowly piecing itself together as he recalled the events of the past few hours.

The memories brought his headache back but thankfully it was a mere shadow of what it had been.

That was good. He needed to be able to think straight now.

His eyes finally landed on the prone figure lying on the bed before him and Ace's hands tightened into fists, igniting almost automatically.

"Luffy . . ."

Luffy, the kid who had taken more punishment than Ace would've thought possible, who always came out on top with a grin on his face, who was so persistent and animated that not even the World Government had been able to slow him down, now lay still, his skin pale and his mouth and nose covered by a mask. Tubes snaked over and beneath the gray sheet that covered him up to his shoulders while machines recorded his heartbeat and breathing with soft beeps.

Ace cursed aloud for a solid minute, indulging in some of the phrases that he'd learned from his time with Whitebeard (and some he'd picked up on his travels), and then swore to himself then and there that if he were ever able to get his hands on the marines or the World Government or _anyone_ that stood in Luffy's path to become King of the Pirates again, he would gut them and burn them alive. No one did this to his family, his brother. _No one._

And then the reminder from that too-damned-practical portion of his mind forced Ace to recognize that he was dead and couldn't do _anything_ to help his on-the-verge-of-death brother, the one he had protected time and time again and grown so close to that Luffy was _everything_ to Ace because he _cared _and he was _dying_ and Ace couldn't do a thrice-damned thing about it because he was fucking _dead_! The sheer frustration made Ace want to punch something, and he was so tempted to do just that, but he was in someone else's room and some of that machinery was probably helping to keep Luffy alive. Ace didn't want to accidentally break something, because he wouldn't put it past the universe to let him move something just once in the exact right time to have Ace fuck everything up again.

So the boy stayed in his chair, repeatedly running his hands through his hair in an attempt to ease his frustration.

After a few minutes of staring at his unconscious brother—_beep, beep, beep_—Ace's mind registered that there was something on his neck. Two things, in fact. And a familiar weight on his leg. Glancing down in disbelief, Ace saw his knife, lost during his escort to Impel Down, and his worn-but-still-awesome orange hat held in place on his back by the cord around his neck.

Even his necklace looked just fine, not even a speck of blood on the red beads.

Checking his back in a particularly shiny surface, Ace found that his tattoo looked as fresh as it ever had. There was no evidence of Akainu's magma-fueled punch at all, though the memory made that area of his chest itch uncomfortably.

The ridiculousness of the situation—Luffy alive but looking like death itself while Ace was dead and looked as healthy as ever—finally hit Ace and pulled his lips into a smirk devoid of real humor or amusement. The expression was hauntingly empty.

The machines kept beeping.

Deciding that sitting and doing nothing but drowning in the new ocean of frustration he'd made was pointless, Ace stood and began examining the room more closely, searching for any hints as to who the hell had bothered to rescue and heal his brother. Because, Ace knew, as charming as Luffy somehow managed to be, he was still a pirate with an impressive bounty on his head. Anyone would turn him in given the chance if they didn't kill him first.

To his annoyance, Ace found that he couldn't open the door. He couldn't float through it either, a fact he discovered after two embarrassing attempts to get through the metal obstacle.

Ace decided that being a ghost that couldn't do anything sucked. Like, really sucked. Thinking of it so lightheartedly was the only thing stopping him from letting loose with his fire, which was making his stomach twist uncomfortably and his body feel too warm for comfort.

Or were his emotions doing that?

After sending the door one last glare, Ace walked back over to Luffy and, once the haze of protective rage that momentarily clouded his vision cleared, checked over his brother's treatment. Well, whatever bit of it he could see.

Luffy's breathing was worryingly faint, his chest barely moving at all, but he was alive, which was good enough for Ace. The smaller wounds were bandaged and Ace would wager that they had all been cleaned as well. The medical equipment surrounding Luffy in the room was incredibly high-tech, so whoever owned the place probably knew what he was doing. Or she, Ace amended mentally. He didn't have the faintest clue of who could have done this.

At least Luffy seemed to be in good hands, which eased some of the anxiety twisting Ace's gut (so it _was_ his emotions after all, not his powers).

Then Ace began thinking about how he was still capable of using his fire powers. To make sure, he turned his arm into fire and then, just for the hell of it, he transformed the rest of his body as well. He burned there for a minute, a raging inferno of energy and power that would normally melt anything too close, but when Ace returned his body to normal he found that the room was unchanged, completely unaffected and almost mocking him with its cleanliness. The observation was unsettling; Ace was a guy used to seeing the effects of his power. He wasn't overconfident; he was practical. There should have been evidence of a fire burning, even if it was just slight melting or heating of surfaces.

Ace put one hand to the floor. Nope; it was still perfectly cool to the touch. Even as Ace super heated his hand, the floor remained unchanged.

"I guess physics is out the window," Ace muttered, glancing around in hopes that _something_ had changed. There was a feeling in the air, something that was almost oppressive but not quite, almost as though it was being held off, pushed away.

Frowning, Ace walked over to one wall and lay a hand against the burnished surface. He instantly recoiled.

There was _sea_ on the other side of that wall. Ace couldn't say exactly how he knew, but the knowledge sprang from deep in his core, entrenched in the same place as the origin of his flame abilities. He tried to recall where he'd felt something similar before and instantly curled one hand into a fist. Were they in Impel Down?

Ace felt an immediate revulsion surge in his gut but he pushed it down, a fierce scowl decorating his face as he loosened his fist, crossed his arms, and examined the situation again.

Luffy was alive. That was the most important fact.

Luffy was also being treated and healed. That was the second most important fact; no one in Impel Down would go to such lengths for the ministrations of a dying, infamous kid pirate.

The room was filled with expensive-looking equipment Ace had never seen before, and it all looked perfectly clean. Whoever owned or worked in this place had resources and extensive medical knowledge and skill.

The room was underwater. Ace had no idea what to make of that. Who built a room randomly underwater, much less in the _sea_?

Ace's ruminations were interrupted as a warm fuzziness filled his brain and his eyes slid shut of their own volition.

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An indiscriminate amount of time later, Ace woke up, blinking and stumbling for a moment while his senses readjusted.

"Damn, I fell asleep," he muttered groggily, rubbing his face. Falling asleep while standing wasn't the worst way to do it, but Ace could remember more than one occasion where he'd fallen flat on his face while unconscious and _still_ hadn't woken up. At least he hadn't been eating; that was always awkward to explain, and cleaning the food off had been a pain no matter what it was. Pancakes and syrup . . . the mere memory made Ace shudder and dismiss it. Marco had never let him hear the end of _that_ fiasco.

Ace cast his mind back and quickly recalled what he had been in the middle of thinking about. An idea striking him, Ace quickly walked around the room—carefully avoiding bumping the medical equipment all the while—and checked out each of the walls, eventually coming to the conclusion that there were other rooms by the one he was in. So it wasn't just _one_ room underwater; there were several.

At least the atmosphere wasn't as suffocating as Impel Down's, though with his brother lying prone and half-dead on the table Ace was partial towards being chained in that hellhole's basement.

Of course, that had been what led to this shitstorm in the first place, so Ace really didn't know _what_ to think.

The entire situation had him confused and he hoped that _something_ would happen so he could figure out just what the hell was going on.

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	3. Chapter 3

Part 3

Ace realized that Luffy was waking up almost instantly.

He'd been spending most of his time watching his younger brother; after all, he had little else to do and doing anything else made anxiety twist his stomach into knots. At least Luffy's condition had seemed to be improving for some time; his skin had a little color to it and his breathing was far more even. Had Ace not known better, he would've said that Luffy was just sleeping.

Ace had fallen asleep on accident at some point in the previous few hours and had woken up just as the door to the room closed. He'd spent a minute cursing his luck, knowing that he'd missed his chance to explore exactly what his situation was (and considering that, by his count, he'd been in the room for at least a week and a half, it was kind of pathetic how little he knew). Then again, exploring would mean leaving Luffy, and Ace couldn't bring himself to do that. It was like tearing off a limb; he could do it, but it hurt like hell, and he'd already lost where he was going with that metaphor.

Sighing, Ace glanced back at Luffy after the door closed and realized that his eyelid had twitched. The older boy froze, for a second wondering if he had just imagined it only to dismiss that because Luffy's eyes fluttered again.

A relieved grin instantly appeared on Ace's face and he stood up, walking over to Luffy. There was an indescribable warmth in his chest that was better than fire; it chased away the cold dread that had been building in Ace's heart since he first saw his kid brother laid out on the bed, half dead and barely breathing. Even though he knew his touch wouldn't do anything, Ace rested one hand on Luffy's forehead, instantly able to tell that whatever fever had taken hold of the young pirate on top of his other injuries had broken.

"Luffy . . . stop making your older brother worry so much, will you?" Ace took his hand off Luffy's forehead and crossed his arms, the smile still on his face. "You can't just do stupid stuff like this all the time." Despite his almost-serious tone, Ace's words were filled with amusement.

Suddenly, Luffy's eyes flew open, unfocused and glazed with directionless panic. Ace stumbled back as Luffy screamed, the sound full of agony. The young pirate began attacking indiscriminately, causing a huge explosion of dust and destroying the door before standing up and staggering out of the room. Ace followed warily, eyeing the crewmembers trying to calm Luffy down. They clearly weren't hostile, but they were panicking and Luffy didn't seem to even see them.

"Ace . . ." Luffy muttered, his eyes wide and haunted.

"Luffy!" Ace said, reaching out to touch his brother. He was interrupted when Luffy attacked again and then jumped out of the ship, creating a hole in the ceiling and flying into the air.

Ace coughed for a minute before remembering that the environment didn't affect him. Immediately upon realizing that, Ace leaped up, hooking his hands on the lip of the hole Luffy had created and flipping himself onto the metal surface.

Sunlight blinded Ace and he blinked, shielding his eyes as he took in his surroundings.

He was standing on a yellow submarine docked in a bay on a relatively large island with canvas barriers blocking off the area from the rest of the island. Judging from the lack of waves on the water, he was probably in the Calm Belt. There were very few inhabited islands in the calm belt, and judging from the few shocked-looking women he could see, Ace decided that this was one of them.

After less than three seconds of looking around, Ace came to the conclusion that he was most likely at the Island of Women, where the Amazon Lily empire lay. He'd heard about it from some of the members of Whitebeard's crew, though most of their conversation made Ace want to punch them in the face and walk away at the same time. They weren't bad guys, but when they were drunk they tended to be pretty dumb.

If that was the case and he _was_ on the Island of Women, the presence of men and women together made no sense. Resolving to think about that later, Ace jumped into the air and used fire bursts from his hands and feet to follow his semiconscious and clearly traumatized brother.

His eyes landed on Jinbe and then a pirate that looked oddly familiar. Ace couldn't remember his name, but he was definitely one of those rookie pirates that had the Marines in a frenzy. Upon seeing Jinbe, Ace felt a flare of relief shoot through him. It seemed that Luffy had gained the Fishman's respect, just as Ace had expected. Jinbe's honor was humbling.

Luffy didn't stick his landing and bounced unceremoniously across the ground before getting to his hands and knees, fingers digging into the dirt while he muttered Ace's name. Ace landed nearby, only stumbling one step. He'd never been good at sticking the landing.

"Hey, Luffy, it's fine," Ace tried, hoping that Luffy would somehow be able to hear him. The older brother rested one hand on Luffy's shoulder but the touch only seemed to make things worse, though Ace knew instinctively that Luffy couldn't feel it anyway.

"WHERE IS ACE?!" Luffy screamed, his voice cracking from the strain.

And then he began running around, still yelling his head off. Ace couldn't help cracking a smile even though he knew that what Luffy was doing was not good in the slightest. The sight of a punch of harried pirates chasing a frenzied Luffy in circles was just too amusing to ignore.

"What will happen if we just leave him be?" Jinbe asked the pirate Ace didn't remember the name of. The two of them looked oddly serious and Ace walked over, a frown replacing the grin on his face.

"Well, to put it bluntly," the pirate replied, "like I said when we first came to this island, if his wounds reopen, he'll die."

Ace froze, his eyes shooting wide open. "Luffy, you idiot, stop moving!" He automatically yelled, turning to face his brother. His voice died when he realized that his words did nothing to change the situation. "Right. I'm just a damn observer."

In the background, Ace noticed that the pirates had managed to dogpile Luffy. The Whitebeard pirate felt a pang in his chest when he heard Luffy proclaim that he was going to go look for Ace.

"Listen, Straw Hat!" One of the pirates yelled. "Fire Fist is already—"

"I told you to get off me!" Luffy cried, overriding his words and throwing the pirates off, after which he continued to yell Ace's name.

Ace buried his head in his hands before slowly shifting them to his ears, trying and failing to shut out the sound of his brother's yelling. "Luffy . . ."

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**The Ace of Hearts **

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Ace had tried to remain conscious, he really had, but he was beginning to curse his narcolepsy even more.

"How the hell does this even happen in the afterlife?" He muttered to himself while flying over the forest. Luffy and Jinbe had disappeared while he was asleep and for some reason Luffy had left his treasured straw hat behind. The thought of Luffy forgetting that hat made Ace's chest hurt even more, since Luffy valued that hat as much if not more than his own life.

Being able to fly, Ace mused, was extremely convenient for searching for people. He could understand why Marco had preened (figuratively) whenever someone expressed envy for his abilities.

An explosion some distance away caught Ace's attention and he hovered for a minute, trying to pick out its point of origin. The task became much simpler when a rather large boulder crashed into a rock formation, creating a practical beacon.

"Luffy!" Ace said, new urgency fueling his movements as he headed to where his brother was. With his wounds—in his condition—after everything that had happened, if he strained himself he would die. Ace wasn't a doctor but he could see that fact as clear as day.

Ace arrived at the small clearing (and judging from the destroyed trees, it hadn't been this big originally) in a burst of fire that no one felt and immediately noticed Jinbe and Luffy. The Fishman had a serious look on his face, one that Ace recalled from their time in Impel Down together. Ace had asked something of him then.

_"If I were to die like this, I hate to ask, but please take care of my little brother."_

Luffy was crying, his face stained by tears. His words hit Ace like a punch to the gut.

"Ace . . . died, didn't he?"

Jinbe looked taken aback by Luffy's lack of denial but recovered. "Yes, he's dead."

Tears streamed down Luffy's face and he put his hands to his eyes in a vain attempt to stop them. His voice was choked and strained and breaking when he spoke. "Pirate King? Yeah, right! I'm . . . I'm . . . I'm _weak_!"

And Luffy cried even harder, completely unaware that Ace was standing beside him, one arm covering his eyes and the other hanging limply at his side. The sunlight his Ace's face, oddly reflecting on his skin, almost as though his face was wet.

But that was ridiculous, because it hadn't rained that day.

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_A/N Last update for a __while. I have lots of tests the next two weeks and I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed. Check my profile for any news._

_Koraly: Ace won't be coming back to life, but the ending I have in mind makes up for that. This isn't meant to be a fic that absolutely crushes the reader. And I appreciate your enthusiasm!_

_As a side note, if I don't respond to your review, it's not because I don't like it. I just only answer reviews with questions to save time and because I'm lazy._

**_Please review._**


	4. Chapter 4

_Just an update, I've finished writing this story (updates will be every two days from here on out), and I think you people will like the ending. The story's a little longer than I thought it would be (by 2 whole chapters), but that's fine._

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Part 4

Ace, his heart gradually, agonizingly ripping in two, watched as Luffy destroyed boulder after boulder, tree after tree, all the while crying out his anger and frustration at his weakness and inability to protect those close to him. Ace had tried so many times to just get Luffy to stop, to comfort him, to help him, but every time his touch did nothing, every time he felt his own emotions threatening to boil over.

Thankfully, Jinbe was there, and if the former Shichibukai's stony expression was anything to go by, he wasn't willing to simply stand by and watch Luffy's grief tear him apart inside.

"Luffy," the Fishman started, but Luffy interrupted.

"Go away! Just leave me alone!"

"Don't send him away!" Ace snapped, staring at his brother while his hands balled into fists and then loosened only to repeat the process. "Luffy, you can't stay like this! I'm sorry for dying! I'm sorry for leaving you alone, and I'm sorry for breaking my promise! But please, don't do this to yourself!" Ace's voice broke and he paused to recover, wiping at the tears in his eyes.

Because he _had_ done something stupid. Ace hadn't realized it in that split second before Akainu's fist punched through his chest and that strange numbness had grabbed hold of him, but dying and leaving Luffy alone was the worst thing he could do as an older brother. Sure, he'd saved his younger brother, but his sacrifice had come at the price of Luffy's trauma. Ace had broken the promise he'd to Luffy made when he was young.

_"I will not die!"_

The commander of the Second Division of the Whitebeard Pirates put his hands to his face, biting his lip to keep any sound from escaping. He'd broken that promise, the one he'd gotten so strong to keep, and he'd left Luffy alone. There was nothing he could do. The realization hurt.

He couldn't do _anything_.

Luffy wanted to be alone and Ace could do nothing to make him realize that that wasn't the right answer.

To Ace's relief, Jinbe was in no way going to listen to Luffy's pain-fuelled demands.

"I cannot do that!" The Fishman stated emphatically. "I cannot let you hurt yourself any more than you already have!"

"It's my own body!" Luffy retorted, his eyes filled with directionless rage, so intense that for a moment Ace was reminded of his own pointless anger from his childhood, when he had despised everything and everyone. Hell, if Sabo and Luffy hadn't been there, he could've ended up in a very cold, very dark, and very lonely place. "I can do whatever I want with it!"

"Luffy . . ." Ace muttered, biting his lip again when he saw blood leaking from Luffy's mouth. The damn kid was going to put himself in a coma.

"If so, then Ace's body was his own too. He was free to die, regardless of what we wanted!"

And though Ace was pleased that Jinbe was so blunt and so honest, the reminder of what he'd done still sent chills down his spine. Painful chills.

"Be quiet!" Luffy growled, eyeing Jinbe like a cornered animal. "The next time you say something, I'll beat the crap out of you!"

"If that will make you feel better then go ahead and try!" Jinbe's words held absolute conviction and Ace felt his respect for the former Shichibukai grow tenfold. The Fishman had already proven his character to Ace in Impel Down, but his dedication to fulfilling his promise to Ace was . . . heartwarming. No, something more than that. Jinbe continued talking even as Luffy got to his feet. "I'm quite weakened myself, but I will not lose to you. Not as you are now!"

Luffy tried to hit Jinbe with his Gum Gum Pistol, only for the Fishman to dodge it, grab the stretched limb, and flip Luffy over. The boy hit the ground with incredible force and spat up blood.

He didn't get up for a minute and Jinbe sat down after a moment, a distant look in his eyes. That distant look was shattered when Luffy abruptly bit him on the arm, to which Jinbe responded by throwing Luffy into a nearby boulder and holding him there by the throat. Luffy weakly kicked and tried to dislodge Jinbe's grip to no avail. Ace walked closer, tongues of flame occasionally bursting from his skin in a display of his overwhelming emotions. Despite that, he managed to keep a relatively clear expression and he forced himself to watch what was happening in case something important occurred.

"Can you not see anything?" Jinbe demanded. "The confidence that you'll overcome all obstacles . . . the strength you've never doubted before . . . A horde of enemies ruthlessly shattered your beliefs, and rendered you unable to do a thing. And then there was your brother, who was your guiding light."

Ace grit his teeth. Had Luffy really idolized him that much? They were brothers, but Ace, though he believed himself stronger than Luffy (and rightly so), he viewed them essentially as equals when it counted. To hear that Luffy looked up to him-only to have Ace literally die in his arms-made Ace realize just how much mental trauma he had inadvertently caused his kid brother. But Jinbe was still talking, determined to pull Luffy out of the abyss he was dangling over.

"The great obstacle known as the world is blocking your vision! As you are now, you cannot see anything! You're being consumed by dark clouds of regret and self-blame! It might be hard for you, but Luffy, you have to defeat those feelings! What's gone is gone! But ask yourself this: what remains?!"

Jinbe's words finally seemed to pierce Luffy's instinctual defenses and the young boy's arms slackened, falling from Jinbe's wrist as Luffy gave up his attempts to weaken the Fishman's grip. His eyes were open and unfocused, void but not exactly empty. Realizing that Luffy would not be struggling anymore, Jinbe released him, and Luffy slid to a sitting position on the ground. He slowly brought his hands up in front of him and stared at them.

Ace sat down next to him, propping one arm on a raised knee and keeping his other leg straight while he tipped his head back. "Dammit, Luffy. I'm sorry. Please don't let my stupid death weigh you down."

_My stupid death_. The words tasted oddly bitter. Before Ace could reflect on exactly why, Luffy's voice stopped him. The kid was crying again; how he had any tears left was a mystery.

"My crew . . ." He began, staring at his fingers. "I still have my crew!" Every name he uttered was choked with emotion and memories. "Zoro! Nami! Usopp! Sanji! Chopper! Robin! Franky! Brook!"

There were names in that list that Ace didn't recognize. So Luffy had gone and done it again; the thought twisted Ace's lips into a wry smile as relief filled him. His little brother wasn't beyond saving after all. Luffy looked like a mess, his face twisted and contorted with grief but there was no longer a cloud of despair hanging around him. He was a young boy grieving, but he was also a pirate captain.

He was Monkey D. Luffy, the man who was going to be Pirate King.

Ace grinned, crossing his arms. So his belief in Luffy's crew hadn't been misplaced. He'd realized just what kind of people Luffy had surrounded himself with immediately and had felt no qualms about asking them to take care of his clumsy kid brother. Luffy was Luffy after all; no matter where he went, he found trouble. Or trouble found him; Ace had never managed to figure out exactly how it worked.

Not that he was one to talk.

"My nakama are still here!"

Jinbe smiled, staring down at Luffy's hunched form. "I see."

"We agreed on a meeting place," Luffy muttered, wiping his eyes, "I have to go. I'm pretty late, though . . . I'm sure they're all waiting for me! I want to see them soon. I want to see them again!"

* * *

_A/N Next update is in two days. I honestly like how this story worked out._

**_Please review._**


	5. Chapter 5

Part 5

Fire Fist Ace didn't know what was happening. One second he'd been watching Luffy bawl his eyes out while he pulled himself away from the lip of complete and utter despair, the next he was standing on the top of a hill overlooking the gentle fall of the landscape towards the ocean ocean in the distance with a salty breeze lightly tousling his ebony hair.

It seemed to be on one of the nicer islands in the Grand Line, though whether it was in Paradise or the New World was a mystery. Ace stared at the horizon for a second, trying to figure out what the hell had just happened to him, until a noise from behind him drew his attention.

Frowning, Ace turned, only to freeze.

People. Lots of them. But in front of them, the backs visible to Ace, were two monuments, one far bigger than the other. They drew his gaze like magnets; he couldn't avoid looking at them even if he tried.

Ace _recognized_ the captain's jacket gently swaying in the wind. He'd seen it time and time again; there was only man who wore it. It was Whitebeard's.

Eyes widening in panic, Ace quickly ran to the front of the graves, stunned by the sheer number of pirates that were lined up on either side of the massive clearing, leaving a path between them. The purpose of the path became clear when Ace saw just who was standing before the graves: Red Hair Shanks and Marco.

Their eyes were fixed on the graves, the flowers decorating them, the swords stuck point-first into the ground next to them, Whitebeard's jacket held up by his massive spear, and Ace's orange hat, bead necklace, and sheathed dagger (where did they even get those?) supported on two crossed sticks. They couldn't seem to entirely believe what they were seeing either, but their solemn expressions made their feelings obvious.

Ace swallowed and looked away from the grieving pair, his eyes drawn first to the all-too-familiar flag of the Whitebeard Pirates fluttering over Whitebeard's grave and then to the inscriptions on the two memorial stones.

Edward Newgate.

Portgas D. Ace.

Shock spread so quickly through Ace's body that he could only stare dumbly at the graves, listening with half an ear to Marco and Shanks as they talked softly, their expressions serious.

"Red Hair," Marco began, glancing at Shanks, "how can I thank you for this?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Shanks replied. "He may have been my enemy, but Whitebeard was a pirate worthy of respect. Even Sengoku thought so." The famous Yonko was quiet for a moment before he turned to leave. "Well, it's time for us to go."

Marco followed suit. "Sure . . . thanks."

The two took their leave, walking down the passageway that the assembled pirates had created. Ace watched them go, his breathing shallow.

Somehow, he knew that Shanks was thinking about Luffy. He didn't know how he knew; maybe it was the man's drawn expression, the way he looked to the skies for a second and seemed to sigh.

Shanks looked back at the graves one last time as he stepped onto his ship, his eyes burning with a conviction Ace had never seen in them before. Then he was gone, the other pirates leaving as well in a slow, drawn-out stream, each paying his respects to the two graves on the hill.

Ace could not understand that _he_ was in one of those graves. Hell, he could barely grasp that Whitebeard, his surrogate father and the man Ace had all but lived for, was in the one right next to it. Overcome by sudden weakness, Ace fell to his knees in front of his own grave, tears leaking from his eyes. Almost without knowing what he was doing, Ace stretched out a hand, weakly tracing the letters of his name in the air.

They looked so . . . so _final_ like that, carved into stone. Unchangeable. Unmovable.

Ace swallowed a sob and painfully turned his head to look at Whitebeard's grave before dragging himself in front of that one as well.

It took him several minutes to pay his respects, and he was often interrupted by his own tears. By the time he was finished, the last of the pirates had left the island. Ace stared at the space they had occupied, seeing how swords had been stuck into the ground, a sea of blades instead of grass, marking the location as a resting place for warriors.

Ace staggered over to the first sword and instinctually ran his palm across the blade.

It did nothing. Ace didn't know what he had been expecting; a cut? That would have been too simple. Gritting his teeth, Ace walked back over to his grave, careful to avoid disturbing the innumerable flowers that rested on it.

His eyes were watering again. So many people had shown up; he'd recognized many of the faces in the crowd, too. Many of them were-had been-friends of his, people he met on his travels. Ace knew that not all of them had come for Whitebeard. They'd come for Ace as well.

Ace's brain hurt when he tried to think about just how many people had shown up to mourn him. As a child, he had grown up believing he was worthless. Even in Whitebeard's crew, even as the Second Division Commander, the doubt of his own existence lingered in the back of his mind, just waiting for the chance when Ace wondered whether it was really good or not that he lived.

Apparently, people had seen him die and mourned him. They thought it was good that he had lived, and bad that he had died. The idea was so simple.

So why was it making his chest and head hurt so much?

Ace wiped an arm across his face, messily smearing his tears but not particularly caring. An idea was taking root in his mind, one that his logical side kept telling him was ridiculous but the emotional side wanted done, and done now. Something told Ace that this was his only chance.

So, with his limbs moving almost of their own accord, Ace reached up and grabbed the hilt of his dagger, the one hanging from the two sticks crossed above his grave. After bracing himself and taking a deep breath, Ace pulled.

There were no witnesses that day to see the strange events that followed. Even had there been, they would have been dismissed as fools. But the rough inscription on the back of the stone, mostly hidden by flowers and looking as though it had been scratched out by a dagger, remained. Some letters were wobbly, almost as though the person had been crying, but it was hard to tell. The last line was nearly impossible to read, so small and uneven that whether it was actually meant to be read or not was unclear.

The inscription read:

_My name is Portgas D. Ace._

_It was good that I was born._

_Thank you for loving me._

Had anyone deemed it necessary to remove Ace's dagger from its sheath, they would have noticed several odd nicks and chips on the blade that hadn't been there before.

But no one ever did.

* * *

**_Please review._**


	6. Chapter 6

Part 6

Ace watched with a contemplative (and slightly bemused) expression as Rayleigh repeatedly hit Luffy over the head with a club. Clearly, the blindfolded Luffy was supposed to be using his Haki to avoid the blows, but he was having little luck with harnessing the power. That made sense, though. It was only the first day of real training.

"The Dark King, huh?" Ace murmured, wincing slightly when Luffy got hit and went down, unable to even move for a minute. Against Haki, his Devil Fruit Powers did nothing to protect him. "You never go for anything but the greatest, don't you, Luffy?"

Still, seeing his brother struggling to get stronger was nostalgic. It reminded Ace of the days he, Sabo, and Luffy trained together to fight the Lord of the Forest, the giant tiger that had nearly killed them on more than one occasion. Ace let out a deep breath, eyeing the Dark King. He didn't seem like that bad of a guy; he'd agreed to train Luffy, and even risked his life to go to Marineford again to let Luffy get that message to his crew.

Well, judging by his apparent strength, Rayleigh didn't seem like the kind of guy who _could_ endanger his own life very easily.

Other people, on the other hand—

Ace winced again when Luffy got smashed into the ground by a particularly nasty blow to the head. The former Roger Pirate was merciless.

Fire Fist cast his gaze to the sky, looking at the puffy white clouds that were partially hidden by the forest canopy. He could still see the image of his and Whitebeard's graves in his mind's eye; he doubted he would ever forget them. They were seared into his brain, visible wherever he looked.

_I'm sorry, Old Man._

And Luffy, the incurable moron, had gone _back_ to Marineford. Sure, he had the intention of getting a message out to his crew about their new meeting time, but that wasn't the only thing he'd done there. Ace Had watched as Luffy mourned the fallen in full view of the reporters and dumbstruck marines and hadn't been able to stop grinning. The idiot had even rung the bell not twice, but sixteen times.

The end of an era.

And the beginning of a new one.

Ace wasn't sure what to make of that. He knew it in some abstract way that he was indirectly responsible for bringing about the new age and ending the old.

_The Whitebeard Era._

He could remember shouting something like that at Akainu, when his brain had been so muddled by anger and rage that he could barely see straight but he had still known it in his heart (and something deeper than that) that he couldn't turn and run. Something had compelled him to stay, compelled him to cover his allies' backs as they fled.

In the end, it had killed him, but Luffy survived. That was all Ace had wanted in his final moments.

Pulling himself from those dark thoughts, Ace tipped his head to one side to avoid a flying Luffy. The poor kid had no idea how to use Haki at all and he was paying for it in bruises and blood.

Ace smirked. Hancock would be pissed.

Oh, when he had realized just _why_ the Pirate Empress was blushing around Luffy and occasionally losing herself in a dreamland that made even Ace a little wary, he'd laughed for almost five minutes straight (before falling asleep and waking up to discover that he'd been left behind and had to go search for the group again; was it really so hard to wake up a ghost?). Then he'd felt a surge of protective instincts and he wanted to warn Hancock to stay the hell away from Luffy, only for the ridiculousness of the situation to overwhelm him again.

He wasn't _jealous_ of Luffy, but sometimes that idiot's actions redefined obliviousness. Honestly, how could he _not_ realize that Hancock was all but swooning over him? The _Pirate Empress_, of all people, was in love with _Luffy_. Ace could have sworn that, more than once, he had heard her talking about marriage. The first time, he'd nearly choked from surprise, and he still did. It was just . . . strange.

But hilarious. And ridiculous, and stupid, and so completely _Luffy_ that Ace couldn't bring himself to be surprised anymore. At this rate, his kid brother was going to become friends with a marine or something equally odd.

For some reason, the notion brought a strange feeling to Ace's chest, almost as though—

_No. Oh hell no. Luffy wouldn't_—_no, wait. He would._

Ace groaned, putting his head in his hands. How was Luffy going to take care of himself if he ever got separated from his crew? He couldn't befriend _everyone_!

. . . Right?

"Don't think about it," Ace told himself, lifting his head up. Strangely, Luffy was no longer in the clearing. Ace looked around and then behind him, realizing that Luffy had gotten knocked away again. It was almost like how Garp had trained them; get better or continue getting the shit kicked out of you. An effective strategy, sure, but it didn't exactly breed a healthy relationship.

Shaking off the memories of the hellish days when Garp had made a surprise visit (or, checked in to make sure Dadan hadn't killed Ace or Luffy yet), Ace got to his feet. He could go explore for a little while, see what the island had to offer. He'd already reached new levels of respect for Rayleigh with his earlier demonstration of Haki—which Ace could use, but not very well—so he figured he could go check out what some of those super strong creatures were. Rayleigh would probably be able to keep him out of trouble.

Oddly, he felt like he was being watched. Ace turned, on guard, and felt his breath hitch when he saw Rayleigh looking _directly at him_.

The man had a damn _presence_. Ace could practically feel a weight in the air around him now that the Dark King was looking his way. Speaking of which, how the hell was he doing that?

Rayleigh blinked, a look of confusion passing over his features.

"Strange," he muttered. "Why do I feel like I can sense you here, Portgas D. Ace?"

"Because I'm right here!" Ace said, a desperate hope filling his chest when he realized that maybe there was a man here capable of sensing him. His hopes were dashed, however, when Rayleigh showed no reaction to his words. Instead, the former first mate of the Roger Pirates sighed, smiling slightly.

"Are you still watching him?" Rayleigh continued, looking past Ace to where Luffy was cursing his way out from under a particularly large collapsed tree.

"Yes! Listen to me! Just tell Luffy-"

"I wonder . . . no, I'm getting old. Luffy! Have you really been beaten by a tree?"

Ace's voice died in his throat.

_Just tell Luffy I'm sorry!_

* * *

**_Please review._**


	7. Chapter 7

_Last chapter, guys. Stuff will be at the bottom._

* * *

Part 7

Ace looked around, blinking. His first thought was that the entire area looked far too blue and that there was a chance he was drowning. The second was that he was clearly breathing and probably _not_ drowning.

With those two possibilities out of the way, Ace focused on the details of his surroundings. He'd barely gotten any sleep the night before, lying in front of those two graves, but it was better than nothing and he was at least able to stop his eyes from sliding shut. Strangely, his ever-present fear of falling asleep at the wrong time was almost negligible, which was odd because it was always there and the stronger it got the more likely he was to fall asleep.

Dismissing that for later pondering, Ace looked around. There were massive rock formations that were half-destroyed, half-submerged in the ground, which was covered in white dirt, almost like ice but not quite. There didn't appear to be any people around.

Ace sighed, running one hand through his hair and automatically walking to the highest point he could see. Unfortunately, that did little to alleviate his confusion. The same landscape that he had seen from below stretched on for as far as Ace could see in every direction, and even the hill he had climbed was only slightly higher than the rest of the land around it. It even levelled off, so Ace wasn't sure if he could really call it a hill at all.

If he was on an island, then he would have to find a way to get to the shore. Maybe then he could try to figure out where the hell he was now.

Ace sighed again and debated whether he should begin walking or try flying. He still wasn't as good at the latter as he would like and there was a chance that he could fall, but it was also much faster than just walking. He spent another second before shrugging and deciding that he would walk. He had time to kill, anyway. It seemed that whatever was keeping him around did whatever the hell it wanted with him; getting thrown all the way to his own damn grave was proof enough of that.

Memories of the gravesite from yesterday brought memories of Whitebeard and Ace hurriedly backtracked, saving his true mourning for Whitebeard for later, when he could stop worrying about Luffy.

The kid was already moving past the worst of his grief but Ace wouldn't be content until he knew for _sure_, and the only way to do that would be to talk to Luffy himself.

Ace flexed his hand, still able to feel the familiar grip of his knife as he had painstakingly carved those letters into the stone. Each one had been a promise, and the finished product had been a declaration.

The feeling disappeared and Ace let his hand drop back to his side.

Before he could start walking, however, the sound of footsteps reached his ears. They were fast, so whoever was behind the sound was clearly moving quickly. The steps stopped behind Ace and he turned around, an automatic smile curling his lips as he saw the familiar face out of the corner of his eye.

It was Luffy. The biggest grin was quickly covering his face, his expression filled with joy upon seeing his brother again.

The two stood like that for a minute, both taking in the other's appearance. Then Luffy flew forward, tackling Ace in an incredibly strong hug.

"Luffy!" Ace gasped, hitting the ground hard and having the breath knocked out of his lungs. "Watch it, you idiot!"

"Ace!"

Something wet splashed against Ace's cheek and he looked up at his brother who was still hugging him, splayed out on top of Ace. He wasn't as heavy as Ace had been expecting. Ace blinked and realized that Luffy was crying.

"Oi, Luffy, what's the matter? And get off me—I can't breathe!" Luffy didn't move. "Luffy!"

"I know I'm dreaming," Luffy eventually hiccupped, his hands curling against Ace's chest, "but it's good to see you again, Ace!"

"Hey, hold on," Ace said, pushing Luffy off as his curiosity won over his patience. "Dreaming? What are you talking about? This is your dream?" Ace looked around, once more taking in the monolithic rocks and the bright, sunny sky. "Are you serious?"

Luffy frowned. "You mean I'm not dreaming?"

"Well, if you weren't, where the hell would we be?" Ace groused. Though his tone was approaching sardonic, he actually meant the question seriously. _Was_ Luffy dreaming, or did they somehow end up in some strange corner of the world together? Honestly, Ace was beginning to feel that _he_ was the one dreaming.

"I dunno. Maybe we're at the bottom of the ocean!"

"Idiot," Ace said, bopping Luffy on the head. "If we were at the bottom of the ocean we'd be dead! Plus, there's sky up there!"

"But everything's so _blue_!"

Ace decided not to mention to Luffy that he had suspected he was underwater at first too, purely because he didn't like to think that his thought process had mirrored his kid brother's. Luffy's mind went to some strange places, after all. Well, when it wasn't fixated on meat. But meat _was_ pretty good; ace had frustrated his crewmates plenty of times when he went night raiding in the kitchens (that new refrigerator they got a month before he left was totally uncool, though; who said they could put a lock on the thing? Sure, Ace could melt it, but that would be messy and everyone would know for sure that it was him).

"Hey, Ace," Luffy began quietly, his eyes hidden by the brim of his hat, "am I really dreaming you? 'Cause last time—" his voice cracked—"last time it was just you dying over and over again."

Ace automatically reached out and brought his brother into a half-hug, reassuring luffy that he was there through touch. "You're not. I'm really here, Luffy." A cocky kind of half-grin, the likes of which had not been on Ace's face for some time, tugged at Ace's lips. "Hell, I thought I was dreaming _you_ at first."

"I'm real," Luffy muttered in protest, but he was clutching Ace like a lifeline. Ace ignored the discomfort of Luffy's fingers digging into his abdomen in favor of enjoying his brother's company. They hadn't met up since that brief time in Alabasta, and before that it had been three whole years.

They spent a minute like that, neither willing to break the peace of the moment. It was silent around them, the only movement coming from the slow drifting of the puffy white clouds across the sky.

Once Ace felt that he would bleed if he let Luffy hang onto him any longer, he gently pried his brother off and got to his feet, stretching slowly. He could feel Luffy's eyes on him the entire time; as far as Ace could tell, the kid had yet to blink. It was almost as though he was afraid that Ace would disappear if he did. Finally, Ace sighed and tipped his hat down, his expression dropping into a disapproving frown.

Luffy had gotten to his feet and watched his brother's every move with a combination of anticipation, excitement, and wariness.

"I can't believe you sometimes," mused Ace, not looking at his brother and keeping his eyes shadowed by his orange hat. "First you go and break into Enies Lobby, then you punch a World Noble, _then_ you bust into and then out of Impel Down, and because _that's_ not enough, you go to Marine Headquarters just to save _me_." Ace shook his head, finally turning to look at Luffy fully, a grin on his face. "You're stupid. Unbelievably stupid, and dense, and dumb, and—" Ace suddenly reached out and pulled Luffy into a hug so quickly that the younger boy stiffened in surprise—"so incredible. Luffy, whatever happens, hold onto that fire of yours. Keep it burning bright, and shake the world. Become King of the Pirates where I failed, and live your life with no regrets."

"Ace . . ."

"You know, your bounty's going to be bigger than mine some day."

"Ace—"

"I'm looking forward to that. I want to see you get stronger, Luffy."

"Ace!"

"I told you a long time ago that when we met again we'd both be great pirates." Ace looked down, meeting Luffy's eyes and bringing one hand up to ruffle his hair. "And I'll say it again, Luffy."

"I don't want you to leave!" Luffy cried, squeezing as hard as he could. "You promised! I'm selfish and sorry and I don't want you to go!"

"Heh. That's the first time you've ever bothered with those manner lessons you eavesdropped on. Listen, Luffy. It'll be fine. You always sought to beat me, right? Well, let's throw down one more time."

Ace pushed away from Luffy and grinned, bringing one flaming hand up. "Let's go, Luffy!"

* * *

**The Ace of Hearts**

* * *

Neither boy knew how long they had been fighting for. Both were breathing heavily, both were bruised and bleeding, and both were grinning as widely as they ever had. To them, there was nothing greater than fighting again.

"You've gotten stronger," Ace commented, wiping away some of the blood trickling from his split lip. "You got some good hits in before I had to start using my Mera Mera no Mi."

Luffy's smile, though it shouldn't have been possible, widened even more. "Of course I did! I'm gonna be King of the Pirates!"

"Yeah, I guess you are."

After a second, Luffy staggered and fell, collapsing to the ground and causing a small puff of dust to drift up into the air. Ace watched him and then took a step forward, swaying only a little. "I think," he managed, grinning like a fool and not caring in the slightest, "I win this one, Luffy."

Luffy rolled onto his back and stared up at the sky, a matching grin on his face, so reminiscent of his smile when he and Ace had become brothers that Ace felt that same surge of protectiveness wash over him that he always felt when he looked at Luffy.

It wasn't because his brother was weak. Far from it, in fact. Ace knew perfectly well that his brother was strong. Ace had the strangest feeling that Luffy had been holding back something during the fight, but that was his brother's business.

Ace didn't care whether Luffy was stronger than him or not. Luffy was his kid brother, and as his older brother it was Ace's job to keep him safe, but now that he couldn't, it was good that Luffy was stronger. That was how things worked, and Ace had been perfectly willing to give up his life to save Luffy's, just as Luffy had been perfectly willing to give up his life to save Ace's.

_"I'll save you even if it kills me!"_

"Idiot." Ace kneeled next to Luffy and then hauled him to his feet while standing up straight. "Idiot, idiot, idiot."

"Idiot," Luffy parroted, sticking his tongue out at Ace. Ace _lightly_ bopped him on the head, resulting in Luffy clutching the new bump and groaning in pain.

"Don't call me an idiot, idiot," Ace snapped.

"Idiot! Ow!"

"What did I just tell you? Do you _want_ to get hit or something?"

"Of course not!"

"Then don't say stupid things!"

"You said it first!"

"So?"

The two glared at each other for a minute before their angry expressions cracked and gave way to smiles.

"Damn," Ace said while shaking his head. "For some reason, I can't stop grinning like a fool around you, Luffy."

The younger boy just grinned wider in response before jumping forward and hugging Ace. Ace barely hesitated in putting his arms around his brother again.

"You're my dumbass kid brother," Ace murmured, holding Luffy close and swallowing around the lump in his throat. "And now you're all beat up, too. Hell, you're so clumsy that I bet your crew can't even handle you with all the trouble you get yourself into."

Luffy was shaking, tears running from his eyes, but he sniffled and nodded. "Yeah. But they're strong!"

Ace grinned, wetness in his own eyes threatening to break into tears. "I don't doubt it for a second. You wanted how many? Ten?"

"Yeah! I've got the greatest swordsman, the greatest liar, the greatest navigator, the greatest cook, the greatest doctor, the greatest archeologist, the greatest shipwright, and the greatest musician in the world! They're all incredible!"

"Ah, you're forgetting something, Luffy," Ace said, stepping back and gently placing Luffy's straw hat back on his head. It had fallen to Luffy's back during their fight, much as Ace's orange hat had done. "They've got the greatest captain in the world, too. The future Pirate King. You can't have a better captain for that pirate crew and than that."

"Ace!" Luffy's lip was trembling and he bit it, completely overwhelmed by his emotions at being with his brother again. Ace managed a short, bitter laugh as his own walls broke and he began to cry as well.

"Luffy, you idiot. You made me cry, too." Ace wiped away his tears, swallowing. "Anyway, I need you to—to tell Jinbe thanks, the next time you see him, whenever that is. For everything he's done. Okay? As a message from me."

"I will!" Luffy promised.

The younger boy suddenly clutched Ace's arms with surprising strength. Ace paused, raising one eyebrow. "Luffy?"

"Is this . . . am I gonna see you again, Ace?"

"Hey, what're you saying? Don't ask questions like that."

"Ace."

The eldest brother sighed, closing his eyes and exhaling deeply. "I don't know, Luffy. But there is one thing I do know for sure."

"What?" There was unbridled hope in his eyes. Ace grinned, the warmth in his chest finally blossoming and spreading throughout his whole body.

"When we meet again, we'll meet as two legendary pirates!"

* * *

_A/N And there we go. The closure story I needed to write._

_Here's a bit of shameless self-advertising, but you guys should check out my other One Piece stories (all featuring Ace, of course): _Brotherly Love_ and _Brotherly Bonds. _I like them, so yeah._

_Anyway, thank you to everyone that took the time to review. Your feedback was awesome and I'm happy that you guys liked my writing. _

_Until we meet again,_

_-RoR_

**_Please review._**


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